Year 3, December 7th-9th, 2018: The Beginning, the Middle, and The End

Yes, circle of life stuff.  Because, it did finally happen.  Shauna's mom passed away early on Friday morning.  Gary, Leah, and Aaron drove through the night and didn't get here in time, but were here soon after.  We kept the girls until after lunch, when Aaron and Shuana came to pick them up and take them back to Gary and Leah's and told them.  I then was able to tell our kids.  Justin asked if she went peacefully, and she had.  Keturah didn't try to change the subject, but didn't dismiss the news either, which is a sign that she is maturing.  I had already wept hard when I went to bed knowing it would be soon.  It was a pretty somber day, but everyone was able to rest in the afternoon.  Then Grandpa wanted us all together to give out souvenirs and to try to cheer everyone up.  We all complied, but not until after Nora told Grandma, "Why don't you tell Grandpa no?" when he wanted to order more pizza to share.  We got a good laugh with that one because even when you tell Grandpa no, he still goes and does.  But we had some good conversations, Shauna visited with us, the kids wrestled with Uncle Jared, and Abishai ran around like the wild child his brand new shirt from Grandpa said.  Everyone was beyond exhausted, so we all went to bed earlier than normal.

On Saturday, we were "back to normal."  We weren't responsible for the girls anymore, Benaiah had a morning shift at CFA because he's in the musical this evening, Jared got to sleep a little more after dropping him off, Keturah and Justin puttered the morning away, and I took it slow and hung out with Jared and Abishai.  I'm actually feeling a bit down because I loved having the girls here and I don't want them to go back to New Orleans, although I know they need to.  They will most likely leave by the end of this next week after the funeral (which is midweek).  I wanted to do so much more with them, too.  And no, we aren't going to get together on Christmas Day unless it's through Skype.  Pretty low key Christmas with no traveling.  That's a good/bad thing.  I've enjoyed the lighter schedule on school, too, and it's going to be hard to get back into routine, whether it's now, or after the New Year.  I've like having the excuse of taking care of the girls so I didn't have to work on my projects or heavy duty schooling.  I'm working on changing my medications, too, so of course that plays a role.  It's been nice to have a more normal Saturday, but sad at the same time.

I am pretty excited about the kids' musical tonight, though!  Benaiah gets to perform, as well as Keturah!  Second to last musical for Keturah before she ages out.  Then we have to wait a couple of years before Abishai can join. And join he will for sure.  I'm excited it's a program Benaiah and Justin was in before and I'm excited for Benaiah and Keturah to share the stage because now they will have something that bonds them, whereas they typically fight and have nothing in common.  I'm stoked!

Sleepy babies again.  Abishai of course was the first one awake and couldn't wait to wake everyone else up!

Snuggle pup!

Time for a little bit of school and stamping fun.

Finally!  Time to make some candy!  Everybody took turns to make our homemade gummy bears!  And again, we didn't burn them!

So exciting!  Two flavors, which didn't come out very strong or too sweet.

You had to proceed quickly because the gelatin would set up pretty quick  Actually, it wasn't as quick as I thought, but you don't want to be too slow either because once it cools, it sticks to the pot.  These instructions are actually very well laid out.

Lunch was deli sandwiches, although, Abishai wanted shredded cheese, snap peas and mustard in his.  And he wanted the mustard on the outside of the sandwich.

Many kids around one table for lunch.  Sweet!

I had to wake this little guy up to go back into Kroger for the rest of my prescription and pick up a couple of things, as well as show Benaiah what something I had seen earlier in the week.  Abishai wasn't happy and just wanted to lie down so I let him.

But then he found Paw Patrol bubble bath and all was right in his world!  He picked the pink doggy named Skye instead of the fire doggy named Marshall.  I think it's the first time I've bought something that you typically think the opposite gender would like more.  But I think he just likes that she has a helicopter for her paw patrol car.  And it was shampoo and not bubble bath, so it didn't bubble up very well.  It's been many, many years since I bought a themed bubble bath or shampoo.  I thought it was about time to have a treat.

Our gummies came out perfectly!  Yeah!  You could probably just do this with regular jello too.

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to hand out souvenirs on Friday night.  Abishai got the perfect gift! A shirt that says "Born to be Wild" and he proved it within seconds of putting it on.  Sweet!

Real vanilla for the baker.  It's clear so it doesn't change the color of white cakes.  And you use half as much that the recipe calls for.

Justin got a green hoodie.

Nora got a trinket box because she has a lot of trinket boxes.

Keturah got a dolphin necklace because she likes dolphins.

Very appropriate bag for the kid that loves his Monster brand energy drinks.  Then his friend told him that each line with the top line means "6" in Hebrew or Greek and so it spells out 666, the Devil's number.  Oi! He thought that was hilarious to share with Grandpa.

When in Mexico...or Cuba...or wherever they were....

Hm,...he's the sixth grandchild.  You would think that the grandparents would realize that you can't put candy within a preschooler's reach and expect him to stay out of it.  Up on top of the fridge the little dish went.

A photo frame for me, the photographer.

Family.  Sweet, sweet, family.

Sweet until they have a wrestling match and pillow fight.  I love how Jared has always gotten in the middle of the kids and played with them.  He loves it!

All kids need lot of touches, even if it's a good old fashioned wrestling match.  I'm surprised that no ornaments or Christmas decor or regular decor gets hurt in the process.  Everyone seems to be in control of themselves.

He kicked her feet right out from under her!

Rare sighting! Benaiah teaching Grandpa how to play a video game!  And what video game was this?  The new Smash Brothers that he got for his Nintendo Switch!  It's definitely not something Gary wants to do on a regular basis though.  He did get some punches in though.

Abishai tried to save Justin!

Secret passage way!

Nora being flipped!

Crazy hair from the next day when we woke up.  It didn't settle down all day.  His hair matches his personality, wild child.

Here's the playlist of the musical from Saturday night that Keturah and Benaiah are in.  The first three videos are the full musical that I videotaped on a friend's video camera.  The rest are 30 second (shaky cam) videos I took on my phone of certain moments, especially their specific lines and solos.  It's raw footage, so it's not perfect, but it gets the job done.  Thanks for watching!

Mystery of the Manger YouTube Playlist

Waiting to get a seat at the other kids' musical, these two played rock, paper, scissors! Or some version of it.

Pretty trees at church of course.

We also have lemonade and cookies after the performance.  Jared dropped us off and then went to buy cookies and flowers for Keturah.  I almost forgot to!

Always lots of hand motions.

Blonde, Jane Blonde.

83 kids!

My kid! All grown up!

Now he's a shepherd, imagine that.  Someday maybe he'll shepherd his own "flock" of congregants.

Manger scene.  Brings back memories of when he was just 6 months old and we played Mary and Joseph for a live nativity scene on Christmas Eve or during Sunday morning service or something.  I'm pretty sure that's the same manger that we used that day and for every manger scene since.  And my friend's granddaughter, Olivia, was the angel.

Keturah saying one of her lines.

My two actors/soloists.

Our neighbor Kendall got to sing Away in A Manger and did an excellent job, too.

My friend's other granddaughter, Braelyn, also had a speaking line.

Watching intently I see, Justin, lol.  It was all we could do to keep Abishai under control though.  He was out of his mind ridiculously active the whole time.

My friend Brianna interpreting the whole musical for the deaf community.  She taught the choir real sign language for one of their songs.  Her whole family helps out with choir, and her older brother Nathan, had a small role as well.

Red and white flowers for Keturah.

She's getting so grown up.  And yes, we had my favorite spot to set up the video camera.  We are one of only a handful that actually record the whole thing.  I had one lady approach me to ask to buy a copy.  We don't use the big cameras because it's expensive and we would need to pay an operator.  Maybe they would volunteer, though.  Who knows.  I'm content with what I was able to capture.

PK's taking advantage of the wide open spaces between the pews and burning some energy.

Family Christmas Card photo!

 Sunday Funday as normal.  Keturah and Justin went with Nora, Everly, and Grandma for both services.  Everly went with Justin to middle school Crave and then helped out in Grandma's 1st grade classroom with Justin. Benaiah was picked up by Matt and drummed over at the Shelby St. campus.  Jared had to go pick him up though so we could eat Sunday lunch together, the 12 of us, which was probably the last time we will have a meal together this round.  Abishai fell asleep on the back, though, lol.  Jared and I both were feeling yucky overall, and I even had to sit down during the last song because I felt weak and hungry and not myself.  For me, it could just be the switch over on meds, or the very cold weather.  It was 18 degrees F this morning, so I put on my thick tights under my pants.  My knees were very happy about that.  I try to tough it out somewhat, but I have a limit as to how much I can tolerate before the fibro flares.  We had tacos for lunch, and then some mutual friends came over so their girls could play with Nora and Everly.  I ended up staying with the two other girls and Nora and Everly, with Abishai, while Jared, Gary, and Leah went to church with Keturah, who was doing KP worship.  Justin and Benaiah had gone back to our house.  Justin did eventually make it to small group, but Benaiah's high school group was going roller skating and he was too exhausted to go.  He actually napped while we chatted with the other family.  Aaron and Shauna went to do some more errands for the funeral.  Then the girl's dad picked up all 4 girls to take them back to his house and Aaron and Shauna were going to pick up their girls from there.  Yes, complicated, but that's what happens when we have 12+ people involved.  It wasn't exactly what I had planned for my afternoon and evening, but I'm grateful to finally have time with the new girls, because I've been following their story on their mom's social media accounts.  Their dad grew up with Aaron.  Abishai had a great time playing with them, though.

But now it's time to regroup and prepare for the week, whatever it will bring.  I have no idea what exactly it will bring besides my normal appointment on Monday, visitation on Tuesday evening, funeral on Wednesday morning, and Keturah, Justin, and Bailey and I are going to the Nutcracker ballet on Thursday morning.  Benaiah might have been permanently moved to the moving shifts on Friday and Saturday, so that changes some scheduling things for us.  Keturah has basketball on Wednesday night and Saturday.  Justin has Bible Bowl and Benaiah has school, leadership, small group, and worship practice.  He's playing drums on Sunday at Franklin Rd. again.  Fun!  He says he likes playing the Christmas songs/hymns because of their pretty easy drum rhythms, lol.  Yes, those songs are supposed to be easy for a congregation to sing.  Speaking of singing, he had a hard time choosing which octave to use on his solo in the musical.  He couldn't go high because he couldn't reach all the notes, and when he went low, it was almost too low or weird.  I totally get it because my natural voice in a lower key than most women.  Poor guy.  He did alright for the effort he put into it.  Even now that kid is not afraid of the stage.  He's a young man of many talents and I'm grateful he's using them at church.  He's a jack of all trades at church and some church is going to be very blessed to have him on staff or as a permanent volunteer.

The chocolates in the deluxe version of the advent calendars are huge!  And adorable.  And they have a picture of each chocolate behind it, so Abishai has gone back and shown me the train and duck and trumpet, etc.  How cute!

Because he's an old dog now, Socks sleeps on a softer surface like Benaiah's bed most of the day.  He's always been allowed to sleep with the kids, but not on the living room furniture.  Well, there's been a few times we've caught him getting down from the couch.  At this point, we aren't going to punish him because it's only at night and we understand that sleeping on the hard floor isn't good for his joints.  And right now, he isn't shedding, so he's not leaving anything behind.  Sweet old doggy.

Hitting Daddy as usual.

Cousins on Sunday dinner time.  The sunlight was bouncing off the tables weird! And Abishai insisted on sitting next to Nora, of course!

We put the leaf into the big table, but I don't think we all sat down together.  Oh well, at least we had a little bit of time together.  Oh, and here's our oldest with their oldest, yup!  Special times for sure.

Then the Graham girls, Ellie and Harper, came over to play.  Chris is one of Aaron's childhood friends, and Mary grew up in the same area as Shauna.  They used to live a couple of streets over from us in Beech Grove.  The big wooden "J" Jared carved out of a tree trunk was from the front yard of their Beech Grove home.  Ellie and Harper are Everly and Nora's ages.  I "know" them because I follow Mary through social media, her blog, and her podcast, but they have no clue who we are.  It was fun getting to see their personalities in person!

Tackling the only napping child, Benaiah.

Where is he?  Lol.  He let out a friendly growl to the kids and made them laugh.

Ellie, who is getting baptized this Sunday, and Harper.  Ellie is the outgoing one, and Harper is VERY quiet.  Ellie looks like her dad, but has her mom's personality and Harper looks a bit more like her mom, but definitely has her dad's personality.  Sweet girls though.

Playing games together.  And come to find out, part of Mary's job is tell help others with their social media accounts.  I could hear bells going off in Gary's head when she said that because he's been looking for someone to do just that.  Maybe, just maybe, there could be a fun partnership going on!

Sleepy baby with his new favorite bag and favorite red drum sticks.  It's tough working heavy part time, going to school, and volunteering at church.

My biggest baby's hand.  Very talented hands indeed, Mr. Drummer, Mr. Actor, Mr. A/B student, and Mr. Call of Duty fanatic.

Benaiah woke up in a daze and started watching Paw Patrol that Abishai was watching.

Chris went back to church to play in the band, Mary went home, Gary preached again, Leah and Jared were in the nursery, and Keturah had KP worship band.  That left Aaron and Shauna to run errands, and me to "watch" 6 kids.  Actually, Justin went back to our house to play his video game and Benaiah went soon after he woke up so he could do homework and play video games.  That left me with 4 girls and Abishai.  They all took turns on the electronics and then, they played a cat and mouse game!  Mary said they came home exhausted but happy.  Yeah!

At first, the girls were chasing Abishai, but within just a couple of minutes, it was Abishai chasing the girls.  He growled and ran super fast.  And because he's small and nimble, he can turn corners more easily than the girls.  They had a blast and got all their wiggles out.

Capture her!  Then Chris came and took all 4 kids to his house because Everly and Nora wanted to see their new dog.  Aaron and Shauna were going to meet them there.  And the rest of us just went home.  Except for Justin, he still had small group at church.  Phew!  It was a very full day!

Roar!

Quick!

Full speed ahead!

Harper!  Oh and you should hear the way Abishai says "Elliot" (Ellie) and "Harper!"  It's so adorable!

There goes Dash #2!!!  We have a picture just like this at this age of Justin running super fast.  Hilarious!

Yeah!  I was able to soak and wash Abishai's old blanket in some oxy clean (from Canada no less) and get a lot of the tannin out!  Woot! Woot!  Now I can neatly package it up, put a note in it, and put with his other baby stuff.  It even lifted some of the pen mark out!  Yeah!